19/07/2025

LYFE SATURDAY | JULY 19, 2025

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Khiva, Uzbekistan to host colourful melon festival o Travellers can expect produce exhibitions, gala concerts

T HE ancient city of Khiva, Uzbekistan is set to come alive with vibrant colours, music and the sweet aroma of melons as it hosts the traditional Melon Festival, Qovun Sayli, from Aug 8 to 10. According to the Uzbekistan embassy in Malaysia, the festival will feature cultural showcases and local produce exhibitions. The highlights of the festival are gala concerts by local and international stars at the historic Ichan-Kala tourist complex from Aug 8 to 9 and at Arda Khiva on Aug 10. “Cities and districts of the region will present an exhibition-fair showcasing sweet melons grown in their respective areas,” the embassy said in a statement. Organised by the Tourism Committee and the Khorezm hokimiyat (local council), the event will feature festively decorated pavilions that reflect regional characteristics. Visitors can enjoy a vibrant array of

YOU do not need olive oil or a ladle of cooking water to achieve the ideal creamy texture of a pasta dish such as cacio e pepe , made with pecorino and pepper. A team of scientists has now pinpointed a completely different – and surprising – ingredient to successfully cook up this traditional Italian dish. From adding salt to egg whites to help them rise, or ice water to fix the green colour of spinach, time-old tricks are legion in the kitchen. Pasta preparation has been the subject of many such beliefs, starting with that famous drizzle of olive oil that some say should be added to the pot of boiling water, supposedly to ensure spaghetti does not stick. This advice has been the subject of much comment in the scientific community, including by chemist Raphael Haumont, famous associate of top chef Thierry Marx, who constantly points out that olive oil simply rises to the surface and does not mix with water at all. In short, it is a waste. Researchers from several universities have joined forces to conduct experiments to find the ultimate ingredient that will guarantee the ideal creamy texture of cacio e pepe , the famous pasta dish made with pecorino romano cheese and black pepper. It is hard to achieve the creaminess normally produced by the pecorino without getting clumps of cheese or a sticky mess. It is true Italians generally recommend adding a ladle of pasta cooking water to finish a pasta-in-sauce dish such as cacio e pepe . And that water contains starch. But for researchers, you need to add starch rather than rely on the unknown quantity in the cooking water. Yes, there is starch in spaghetti – but not enough. For the sauce to be as creamy as it should be, the ratio of starch to cheese needs to be around 2–3%. And this works just as well with corn or potato starch, according to study results published in the journal Physics of Fluids . In practice, you need 4g of starch for 240g of pasta and 160g of grated pecorino. Scientists from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, the University of Padova and the Institute of Science and Technology, Austria also added that it is important to ensure the correct temperature of the dish when assembling the pasta with the sauce. It is important not to overheat the dish, as this could result in the cheese-forming clumps. While the purpose of this study may raise a smile because of its light-hearted nature, the authors remind us pasta – its composition and the way it is cooked – has long been a subject of scientific interest. “On several occasions, pasta has been a source of inspiration for physicists. The observation that spaghetti always break up into three or more fragments, but never in two halves, puzzled even Richard Feynman himself, and the explanation of this intriguing phenomenon earned Audoly and Neukirch the Ig Nobel Prize,” the researchers wrote. – ETX Studio Secret to cacio e pepe pasta Adding the right amount of starch is key to making great cacio e pepe pasta. – PEXELSPIC

The festival will feature cultural showcases and local produce exhibitions. – PICS FROM FACEBOOK

activities, including theatrical performances, puppet shows, displays of national costumes and exhibitions showcasing traditional dishes, Khorezm bread and handcrafted goods. The programme also features live folklore performances, hands-on master classes, and exhibitions of visual and applied arts. – Bernama

@ EMBASSY OF UZBEKISTAN IN MALAYSIA

Danish chef serves up gastronomic journey by bike

HOPPING custom-built bicycle-turned-portable kitchen, Danish chef Morten Kryger Wulff started whipping up a feast of tantalising, original dishes – served with a generous side of nature. The 56-year-old chef, a veteran of prestigious kitchens across Europe, got the idea more than two decades ago to take his cooking to the great outdoors, leading customers on a gastronomic bike ride through Copenhagen – with delectable food served at every stop. On a sunny weekday in July, grilled seaweed, dill cream, bean fricassee, Nordic pizza and blackcurrant ice cream were on the menu for the ride from the Danish capital’s harbour to the Amager Nature Park. “This is as close as I can come to nature, cooking-wise, in a chef way,” said Wulff. The tour lasts about four hours total, covering 3km to 5km. It is broken into bike rides of about 15 minutes each, in between which the chef gets off his bike, unfolds his table and starts cooking. “You take away the walls of a traditional restaurant and you expose yourself to the city and to the elements you are in,” he said. In his cargo bike – a contraption he designed himself, measuring over 2m long and weighing 130kg – he brings everything he needs: a foldable work surface, a refrigerator, a gas burner and all his ingredients. “It is impressive to watch him cook from that small kitchen, to see how compressed everything is,” said Pernille Martensson, a off his

With a long-standing passion for the outdoors, Wulff cooks on his self-designed kitchen-bike during a stop in Copenhagen, Denmark. – AFPPIC

Locally produced Wulff takes an ecologically gentle approach. “The food we get for these tours is, of course, all harvested and bought locally,” he said, adding that even the wines come from around Copenhagen. “Bicycle, it is the most sensible vehicle, the smartest vehicle. It does not use any energy. You can have a battery, but it is pedal-powered,” he said. The mobile approach to dining means he and his customers “meet the city, we meet the locals”, he said. The self-proclaimed “bicycle chef” said he is “very passionate about cargo bikes and what they can do”. – AFP

Copenhagen local who joined the tour with her husband to celebrate his birthday. The route is “part of the menu”, said Wulff. “For example, the dish with fish or shellfish or seaweed is typically served by the channels,” he said. On the docks, he sautes shrimp before serving them in shells. As Wulff and his group gradually move away from Copenhagen’s city centre, the chef – who has worked at The Savoy hotel in London and Geneva’s InterContinental – shared stories about the city and the project. It all began in 2002, when he was kicked out of a municipal park for trying to have a barbecue with friends and decided to start cooking outdoors legally.